《Bright Feather》


 Prologue

    It was quiet. The only sound was the melodious murmur of a fountain in the center of a small garden. The air was a bit humid, and the light breeze was drifting around carrying almost unnoticeable sweet flower aroma.


    The sun had already sat down, but the sky was yet to turn dark. The flowers in the small garden were starting to close the first evening dew forming on their leaves.


    It was peaceful as it only can be in the late summer evening when everyone was lazing around after the hot of the day had finally drifted away.


    The sound of a child''s laughter came suddenly, shredding this pastoral atmosphere. Still, there wasn''t anything unbecoming in this laughter, as if this garden existed solely for the purpose of making the little child laugh and be happy.


    A lady walked in into the garden holding a little laughing girl by the hand.


    The lady''s looks suggested that she was a bit over twenty. She wore a mesmerizing tender-sky-blue-colored chiffon dress, which tightly hugged her waist and fell in waves down to feet outlining her perfect figure. Her long unruly hair was fiery red. It made her seem a domesticated spirit of fire as she was smiling mildly to the child next to her.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    The girl looked about four or five years old. She also had a head full of fiery red hair and also was dressed in a tender-sky-blue dress which made her look like a little doll. All in all, she looked like a lovely little copy of the lady and anyone could say at one glance that the lady and the girl were related.


    "Granny, granny, I want a bedtime story! You promised!" chirped the girl.


    "Alright, what story do you want?" the lady walked the girl through the garden to the small veranda at the side. There was a room adjusted to the veranda, and the sliding door as big as the whole wall was opened to the side.


    Inside the room, there was a bedding on the floor right next to the exit, such as if one lay there he or she would be able to enjoy the view of the garden and melodious sounds of the little fountain.


    The little girl took off her dress and got under a blanket ready to listen to the granny''s story.


    "I want the story of you and grandfather!"


    "But you''ve heard this one countless times."


    "I still want to hear it! When I grow up, I will marry someone as great as grandfather too."


    "Ha, ha." The lady laughed. "That will be hard to achieve, I''ve lived for sooo long and only met one of your grandfather."


    "Alright," the girl felt dejected "guess, then I''ll have to go for the second best."


    "Just don''t tell that to your father," the lady chuckled.


    "Granny, you are a bully." The little girl pouted.


    "Alright, alright, I''ll stop teasing you." Granny laughed and caressed the little girl''s head. "You''ll definitely marry a boy just as great as your father and grandfather."


    The lady fixed the blanket and sat down next to the girl.


    "Well," she said, "let me start then."

 Fireblood Household (1)

    It was early spring. The snow cover lay in tatters here and there, and the primroses were full in bloom.


    The Fireblood Manor had already woken up from winter slumber. The servants were running around carrying out various tasks.


    Young master Starlight finished with daily chores and was taking a leisure walk.


    Don''t look down on young masters, as even if their chores were not sweeping passages and washing clothes, they still had lots of responsibilities to fulfill. Such as learning how to manage household and family business, or the right way to instill and uphold laws, not to say literature, philosophy, fencing, and magic. All of these were duties he had to pay attention to every day.


    Although young master Starlight was 27 years old, he was still considered a youth in the house. Even if everyone knew that he was first in line to become the next family head, he still needed to learn, and his prestige wasn''t yet fully established. Many family elders were waiting for him to make a mistake and snatching the position of the family head from him for their own offsprings.


    As such, he only had a couple of hours a day to himself.


    Surprisingly, he didn''t spend this time with his wife, but with his little cousin sister.


    The building his sister lived in situated in the outlying part of the manor. It was not a shabby building, as there were no bad buildings in the entire estate and even servants lived in good houses, but still, it was just that, a servant house, nothing like the house his uncle''s family had used to reside in.


    They''d used to occupy one of the better buildings in the manor, but the fire that year had left nothing of it.


    It was a wonder, how the strongest mage in the whole family had managed to die in the fire, but when the fire had been extinguished nothing had been left of him. He had been young and very talented, he''d been just thirty when he''d been entrusted with leading the family army. Everyone''s expectations of him had been very high. Unfortunately, he and his wife had died in the fire which had broken out of nowhere in their house, and only their little daughter had somehow survived.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Some said they had sacrificed themselves to save their daughter, some that they''d been just unfortunate to not notice the fire when it had just started and had fallen to it as it had grown too large to cope with.


    Anyway, most agreed that little girl was a jinx being a reason for both her parents'' death. As such, the people in the family unanimously did their best to avoid the little girl.


    Starlight''s father was also a general. It was the responsibility of the Fireblood Family to lead Stonerule Kingdom''s armies, so there always were two generals in the family, one was leading the family own army, and the other was leading the kingdom armies. The one leading kingdom armies was Fireblood Skysword - Starlight''s father and the oldest son of current family head Fireblood Goldflame, and the one leading family army was Fireblood Brightsword - Skysword''s second brother.


    Two brothers were quite fond of each other, and as Skysword was often outside with all army things, his children were mostly taken care of by Brightsword, especially his oldest one, Starlight.


    Starlight treated his uncle as a father, and in his turn uncle treated him as his own son. To the point where Brightsword even taught Starlight his self-invented sword art which he never taught to anyone else.


    From Starlight''s early childhood and up to the end uncle was the closest kin to him. When Brightfeather was born, Starlight was especially delighted. He remembered her being just a little cute ball full of smiles.


    Unfortunately, after her parents'' death and as time went by she turned more and more collected and impassive.


    It was no wonder as almost no one in the house interacted with her.


    It''s not that she was bullied or oppressed, no such thing. Just, that nobody would be first to talk to her, and if she were to speak they would politely but curtly reply and hurry away. Eventually, she stopped trying to interact with others and only would smile sometimes at her big brother.


    Starlight tried his best to accommodate her, but his time was limited. As an heir to the family, he had many things to do and wasn''t able to spend as much time as he wanted with her.


    This year she was turning fifteen and was considered old enough to marry. It was common in the mage families to get engaged even before birth. Fifteen was the age when any engagement done prior would be fulfilled.


    It didn''t matter that a mage at this age was not yet considered adult of any sort. This kind of engagements had more meaning as a political move. Also, it was believed that people who would be the lifelong support to each other should start early. It was not in the custom to get divorced or engagement annulled, so once it was decided it would be carried for the rest of the lives.


    The problem was, Brightfeather was extremely disinclined to marry.

 Brightfeather (2)

    Upon reaching the house, young master Starlight paused for a moment looking around.


    It was not yet dark, but in the setting sun, this part of the manor was looking kind of gloomy with the light of torches not reaching here and the windows dark. One might even feel that an atmosphere here was somewhat eerie.


    It was quiet, and there was no one in sight.


    Starlight went to the door and lightly pushed it. The door opened silently.


    It was dark inside the house, the window shades were drawn, and not even a sign of candle lit was there.


    He heard whistles of wind, which indicated little sister was exercising.


    The house had only one room but was nevertheless spacious enough to enable doing exercises without needing to go somewhere else.


    Actually, Starlight would gladly take Brightfeather to live with his immediate family in his own house. His wife also wasn''t against the idea; she quite liked the little girl. But there was one particular circumstance which wouldn''t allow them to do so: after her parents'' death, Brightfeather developed a phobia against fire.


    One can imagine the terror of being pyrophobic in the house full of ever-burning fire.


    There was fire everywhere.


    It was the territory of the largest fire mages clan in the kingdom, after all.


    The fear of fire was one of the main reasons for Feather''s plight.


    Being born into the fire mages family, but unable to learn family magic arts, wasn''t it just terrible?


    The family library had not even one thinnest book on any magic aside from the fire magic.


    Well, even if there was, it was of no use to Feather as she only had an affinity to fire. She hadn''t even a silver of affinity towards any of the other five elements.


    It was very common to have an affinity for more than one element. But the more different affinities one had, the less one had a hope to become a mage.


    The distinguished mage families spent the extensive amount of efforts to make their children have pure affinities and still only one in fifty would be a success.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Others, as long as they had at least 70% affinity towards a particular element, still could learn magic arts but they would have to invest considerably more time and efforts.


    70% was a threshold though. If one had less affinity toward one element, no matter how diligent he was, he had no chance to become a mage and would remain a commoner for the rest of his life.


    Well, you still could learn a trick or two, or have an encounter which would allow you to become mage despite low affinity, but that was rarest of the rare. You know, Qilin horns, Phoenix feathers, those kinds of things.


    Thus, it was a complete waste for a girl afraid of fire to have such an exceptionally high affinity towards it.


    Upon Starlight''s entrance, a delicate girl paused her movements and took off the blindfold covering her eyes.


    "Oh, brother!" she said.


    It was Brightfeather. She was dressed in the simple red gown, which every disciple of the family would wear. Her long fiery red hair was gathered in a tail. She was a bit blushing from exercises just now, and her eyes were sparkling despite the lack of light in the house. She obviously enjoyed having a workout.


    Starlight shook his head:


    "What''s the need for this blindfold. It''s so dark in here that you can''t see your hand in front of your face anyway."


    "Hehe, you''ll never know what might come in handy out there," Feather answered.


    Out there.


    It was a year and a half ago when Feather first heard this news of her getting married.


    It was completely out of the blue.


    And something was not right here. She couldn''t put the finger on it, but it just felt wrong.


    She only had an affinity to fire and no way to practice it. So from the mages perspective, Brightfeather was a complete cripple, even worse than having no affinity to magic at all.


    Who would want to marry her? No one would.


    To have a cripple in the family was a bad sign and a disgrace to any family. Even commoners wouldn''t want to have someone like that in the family.


    She succumbed to her fate and was prepared to spend the rest of her life as an insignificant member of her family, practicing swords and reading books. These were her two hobbies.


    As she was a daughter to her father, no one would stoop so low as to make her be a servant, so she had all the time in the world to herself.


    And yet, here she was, getting herself a husband out of nowhere.


    But, you could say that Feather was prideful.


    Having her husband married to a cripple? In no way would she be content with that.


    So a plan had started. The escape plan.


    Feather had spent days in the library reading books on wild herbs, magical beasts, geography, and anything that had to do with survival in the wild. She had read about cities and countries out there. Books on customs and beliefs, on history and places, on laws andˇ­


    She had read almost everything there was to read in the family library that could somehow or another be of help to the life outside of the family protection.


    She had been thorough and diligent in her research and by the time of action could be considered pretty knowledgeable on the topic of wandering outside.


    And when she was not reading, she was exercising.


    It needed great strength and tenacity to travel outside. Although Feather was young, she wasn''t all that naive to think that life without the family having her back would be a piece of cake.


    So she put a lot of effort to be fit. Although she was a bit thinner and smaller than her peers, she was just as strong as any other kid in the family. And this is considering the mages were naturally tougher than non-mages.

 Escape (3)

    "Alright," Starlight closed the door and the room sunk into darkness once more. "We don''t have much time; we''d better hurry."


    "Wait a moment, bro, I''ll change." Feather said putting down swords in her hands.


    It was a pair of differently shaped swords: one was straight and double-edged, the other was slightly shorter, a bit curved, and sharpened on one side and a third of the other.


    These swords were custom-made for her on the order of the eldest uncle. They were replicas of her father''s swords.


    The swords of Fireblood Brightsword were in Starlight possession, as he was his direct disciple.


    And anyway, father''s swords would be too heavy for her, so uncle Skysword especially ordered for these swords to be made in accordance to her height and strength.


    She went to a screened-off corner of the room and in a moment came out wearing regular commoner clothes, simple and inconspicuous.


    "How am I?" she asked.


    Starlight looked her up and down.


    "We should do something about your hair," he honestly said.


    Feather''s hair was of bright fiery-red color, betraying her high affinity towards fire. There was no doubt, were she to go around like that, she would be found out and brought back home in no time at all.


    "No problem," she said, took out a knife and then with one swift motion cut off her tail. Then she took a piece of cloth and covered her head with it. "Should be enough for now. Take it," she gave the hair to Starlight, "you can burn it later. No one will know then."


    Starlight put the tail of bright red hair into his spatial ring.


    "Have you taken everything?"


    "Almost. I just need to put away my swords, and that''ll be it."


    He took out of the ring a package and gave it to Feather.


    "Take this too. That''s dried meat and vegetables. Enough to last you for a couple of weeks in case of an emergency. Maybe more if used sparingly."


    Feather took the food package and stuffed it into a small purse on the table, then she stuffed her swords in there too.


    This purse was a very rare commodity - a spatial bag. It was very hard to produce, way harder than spatial rings.


    Spatial jewelry could be made by using minerals with spatial properties, which were if not common still not so rare.


    Spatial bags, on the contrary, needed either skin or wool of magical beasts with space properties which were quite rare, or the fiber of the plant with spatial properties, which were even rarer.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The only thing which made spatial bags worth producing was that unlike spatial rings, which could only be used by mages, bags were able to be used by commoners. And many of the more wealthy ones were willing to pay exorbitant prices to get their hands on it.


    Starlight got one for Brightfeather with great difficulty after getting to know about her decision to flee.


    Through the past year, the purse was filled to the brim with lots of handy things. From money and medical herbs to blankets, change of clothes, maps, papers, inkstones, brushes, a range of weapons, talismans and whatever else.


    "Alright, all done!" Feather looked around the house one last time.


    It looked desolate. The place she had spent her youth in. Will she ever return?


    Probably not, she thought. At least, not if she succeeded.


    And she must succeed.


    The two, brother and sister, stealthily left the house through the rear window.


    They quietly moved through the garden. No one would look for them here, but they still needed to be careful.


    In the deeper part of the garden there lied an entrance to an underground passage.


    There were several entrances to the underground passages throughout the manor, and one of them lay in this remote garden. Feather found it by chance while playing here several years ago.


    There was a pit in the ground under the roots of a tree.


    It was a miracle nothing happened to her and she was able to come out of this alive. Starlight scolded her heavily that time. It was the only time she was scolded by him so sternly. Later she came to know the reason for this, but she had no idea at the time, so she explored the ditch and found a way to exit the manor from here avoiding all the guard posts and fortifications.


    It was an old escape path made by the family who knows how many years ago. They didn''t know if the path was still known to the family elders today. At least, it seemed not been used for a long time.


    Now they were going to use this path for its main purpose - escape.


    The sun finally settled behind the horizon, and it was getting darker by the minute.


    The ditch under the tree root was well hidden, but they knew where to look, so they swiftly squeezed themselves in.


    The passage was not so spacious, and it was pitch black inside.


    Feather took out a light pearl. It was one of her few exceedingly valuable possessions. The pearl was an autonomous lightening artifact. As any treasure which didn''t need the user to be a mage, it costed astronomical sum of money. It was bought for her by uncle as she couldn''t use fire at home so that she could read in the evenings and her home wouldn''t be dark. She just had it hidden in her purse earlier so as not to forget such an important thing at home. The pearl was very easy to use. It only needed to be recharged in the sunlight once in a while and it would be able to glow for at least a week before going out.


    The pearl lightened the path. The passage was dug through the ground so most of its walls were made of dirt. Here and there occasionally were inserted stony patches, and patches of melted ground and stones. There were even sections where the walls were turned into glass by the temperature.


    The passage was tidy, even if no one visited here for so long.


    Starlight and Feather went through a passage and soon enough exited the tunnel on the other side of the manor wall.


    Starlight looked at his little sister. It would be a long time before they would be able to meet again.


    "Are you sure, you remember the path to the road," he asked.


    "Yes, brother, I remember it like the back of my hand. You don''t have to worry."


    "Don''t forget to eat properly."


    "O.K" Feather confirmed.


    "And don''t flash your money, don''t bring troubles on yourself."


    "Yes," she nodded.


    "And your swords, unless it''s life or death situation you better not show them to anyone."


    "Really, you can stop nagging at me already, I''m not a little kid!" Feather finally couldn''t endure it anymore. "You don''t have to worry that much, brother, I won''t do anything stupid and harm myself. Be well. I''ll definitely find a way."


    She didn''t continue, they both knew well what way she had to find.


    "Be well," Starlight echoed.


    Then Feather waved at him and went away.


    After Feather''s figure vanished in the bushes, Starlight sighed heavily:


    "Not to worry, she says. It''s not as if I wanted to worry about you, stupid girl."


    He stood there for some time letting his thoughts wander. In the end, he shook his head:


    "I''ve let you down, teacher, I couldn''t protect her."


    Then he went back to the underground passage.

 Runaway (4)

    The underground passage exited to the forest.


    Feather went through shrubs carefully avoiding holes.


    She knew the path to the road well, so she didn''t need to be overly careful while going. Still, some caution was needed. It was a forest, after all, so one could never guess.


    Holes were the remnants from the events six hundred years ago. Not many records were left concerning that period of time, but it was commonly known that some tragedy had occurred then and the world nearly collapsed on itself.


    That''s when these holes had appeared.


    They were completely invisible, so one could easily fall into them with one wrong step.


    Those who had survived had been telling that if you fell into a hole, you would be teleported to some strange place. Places were different according to different people. Some were hard to survive, some were easy, some had treasures, and some had nothing inside.


    That''s why people called their world the Cheeseworld because of how it resembled a cheese riddled with holes.


    Humanity lived in the constant danger of falling into this holes. While some holes had people returned from them, the most of them didn''t. It was unknown what was there on the other side of the holes which no one returned from.


    Fortunately, the ruling family established large stones covering patches of land and people were able to live safely in the cities built on these stones. And there were roads which were confirmed safe to travel from city to city.


    Still surviving outside cities was a hard, tedious work and many perished.


    And if the city had needs to expand, the suburbs would be a very dangerous place, riddled with holes. With time, locals would know all the holes like the back of their hand, but outsiders would be risking their lives if they were to go there.


    Feather knew well the path from the underground exit to the road. Moreover, in the library, she had gotten her hands on a map with most of the holes in surrounding the family manor lands marked, so it wasn''t too dangerous for her to travel, even though it was a nighttime.


    She swiftly reached the road. The road was lit by the moonlight, and it was not as dark here as in the forest.


    Feather put the light pearl back into the purse, looked around, and decisively walked to the right, away from the manor.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    The nearest town was a couple of hours away from the manor, if she moved swiftly, she would be able to pass it before midnight.


    Feather didn''t plan to stop at the town. She needed to go as far away from home as she could in the shortest amount of time possible. The further she would be able to go, the harder it would be for the family to catch her.


    Furthermore, she would need to travel on foot, as buying a horse would attract attention. And where was she to buy a horse in the night anyway.


    The night air was fresh, and her steps were light. Feather walked fast, and the sense of freedom and adventure was intoxicating.


    She had never been free before in her life, even if she wasn''t restricted.


    The manor, ever-lit by flames, restricted her better than any restrictions could.


    The home which made you terrified all the timeˇ­


    And now she was running away from this home, she''d be free, and would never have to be afraid anymore.


    Well, she was wrong, of course.


    It hadn''t been an hour before the silence of the night was torn by the noise of many claws scratching the road and hissings of dogs and horses.


    Feather took fright. Pursuers? So fast?


    She''d been discovered. A pity. She thought she would have at least till the morning, butˇ­


    She ducked to the side of the road just in time to avoid being seen by the group emerging from behind a road turn.


    There were at least ten riders in a group and no less than five hounds.


    Hiding was of no use. The hounds had already felt her, barked and rushed over.


    Feather dashed to the woods, away from the road.


    It was suicidal, but she didn''t care.


    Hounds were fast but careful. They were intelligent and knew that their task today was to catch the human, not to hunt the prey.


    Three of the hounds dashed into the forest after Feather, and the rest two were going back and forth, waiting for riders to catch up.


    The bushes in the forest were lavish, so the chasers had to dismount. It would be faster, than trying to go through the woods by horses.


    The girl couldn''t get far away anyhow. The hounds would catch up and restrict her.


    Everyone was disgruntled at how they had to go and play that catch-game in the late night instead of resting at home.


    Did that stupid jinx think she would be able to escape?


    And why would she even want to escape? The family had found her a good fianc¨¦; she would get a decent dowry from the family; what could a cripple hope for more in her life.


    They didn''t understand and were annoyed.


    The captain of the team led his men into the forest letting the hounds show the way. In a minute they caught up with the rest of hounds. But the girl was nowhere to be seen.


    There was a spacing between the trees, and the hounds were whimpering at the side.


    Animals were much more perceptive of these crazy things than humans. A hole, it was a f*cking hole! The captain cursed. The stupid girl had fallen into the hole. Truly a jinx!


    The team looked at the spot with unease.


    "Captain, do we need to..."


    "No," he said immediately.


    What a joke! He wouldn''t let his men head in there. If the jinx wanted to die, she can go and die all she wanted. Why would they want to die along with her?


    "We''ll go and report this to the elders and let them decide. In the night to locate the exact position of the hole is hard, and the returnable holes are scarce. We know all of them in the vicinity of the manor, and that''s not the one we know of.


    "Axe, Knife, stay here and guard the hole, be careful. I''ll leave Second and Fifth with you just in case, they are smart. We''ll go to report and be back in the morning."

 A Cave (1)

    Feather came to and looked around.


    Just now she had been dashing through the forest without looking where, and then tripped over a root and fallen.


    Her palms got scratched and hurt, but that wasn''t her concern.


    It was silent.


    There wasn''t the sound of trees, nor the barking of the hounds. It was only her battered breathing that was resounding through the walls.


    The walls were made of some blue crystals which were emitting faint light. It wasn''t bright, but it wasn''t particularly dim either.


    The place she was in was not the forest she rushed across just a moment ago, and that meant one thing: like it or not, she escaped successfully.


    Through a hole, that is.


    There were crystal walls and nothing else in there.


    The place looked like some kind of underground passage, but at the same time, it looked like it wasn''t man-made. What could it be?


    As there were no indications of any sort, Feather chose a direction randomly and went forth. Anyway, standing there wouldn''t help her.


    After several minutes of walking, she found that the ceiling started to gradually grow lower.


    When it reached the point where she had to bend to go further, she decided to go back.


    She walked back, but after some time of walking the floor went up sharply, and almost reached the ceiling. She would have to crawl to explore further.


    Feather was uncertain. What should she do? Try to crawl there or go back and try that way.


    After minute contemplation, she decided to check this part first. She was already here after all.


    Feather crawled inside. After some time the ceiling went even lower, and she could only lay down to continue onward. But just after a few more meters, when she started to consider whether it was time for her to turn back she saw the light to intensify just a bit further away.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    She continued, and in a minute reached an opening.


    It was a big cave. But unfortunately, Feather found out, that the hole she came out from was just a meter away from the ceiling of the cave, and the floor of the cave was way down. It was five or six meters of a sheer wall.


    The cave was big, but most of it was taken by a lake, glowing with the same blue light as the walls of the cave.


    At the side of the lake, right under the place she was looking from, there was a patch of land, and there was a big tree standing there.


    Looking at the tree Feather shivered.


    The tree had a big crown of fiery orange leaves and was emitting a warm light. In a way, it looked like it was on fire.


    ''I''ll go back,'' she decided immediately.


    If anything, she didn''t want to have to do with that ominous tree.


    After getting out of the fissure, Feather went by the passage once more and soon was at the place she reached earlier.


    She continued onward.


    The path curved right ever so slightly and was gradually going down.


    The ceiling was fluctuating, sometimes getting lower so that she had to crawl to pass, and sometimes going as high as two full heights.


    There were no splittings in the passage, just one long tunnel.


    After following the tunnel for half an hour, Feather found out that the exit to the tunnel came to the same cave she had already seen from above.


    As it seemed, this place had just this one circular passage and the cave with the tree and the lake.


    Feather went around the cave. Except for the tree and a couple of crystal pieces fallen from the walls, there was nothing there.


    Thanks to the tree the cave was well-lit, unlike the passage.


    Feather looked at the tree more thoroughly.


    When looking at it from up close, there was nothing ominous about it. It was just a tree with pointy orange leaves which somewhat resembled ilex leaves. The leaves were moving a little and from afar made an illusion that the tree was burning.


    The trunk and the branches of the tree were of the same orange color. They were not as shiny as leaves, but there was also a bit of light coming from them.


    Looking at it closer, Feather realized, she knew what the tree was. She read about this kind of trees in one of the scrolls in the library.


    It was a very rare Fireleaves Treasure Tree, which only grew in the high-density fire environment. The tree bloomed once a millennium, and the fruits it gave were highly valuable for every fire practitioner as they could enhance fire affinity by almost tenth.


    Mind you, treasures which could make one''s affinity to grow were rare of the rare. Normally, if mages found some treasures which could boost their affinity by a percent or two, they would already be on the ninth cloud. And to up one''s affinity by ten percent at once, you can imagine just how impressive that was.


    Unfortunately, there were no fruits on the tree right now.


    Not that she had any use for these fruits apart from filling herself.


    But a high-density fire environment?


    Feather looked around the cave once more.


    The walls were the same everywhere, the same blue crystals over and over.


    And the blue-light-emitting lake.


    Nothing here looked like it had to do with fire apart from the tree itself.


    As the leaves of the tree were moving, it was safe to assume that the cave at least had some vent connected to outside.


    Feather breathed out. It gave her a chance to find the exit.


    What could she find if there wasn''t one?


    At least now she had a hope.

 The Lake (2)

    Feather walked to the lake and washed her hands. It would be bad if the scratches got infected.


    The water in the lake was warm and a bit itchy on the wounds.


    Feather was there for over an hour already, and no one came through the hole after her yet, so it was safe to assume that they will at least wait till the morning before coming after her. She went around the cave several times more but didn''t find anything new.


    After several hours of exploring the cave Feather was a bit hungry, so she took out the food and sat at the side of the lake to eat.


    The lake was the only part of the cave left unexplored, but there could be some underwater passage or another patch of land on the other side of it.


    The water in the lake was still. It looked as if it was a mirror reflecting the cave ceiling.


    After some consideration, Feather decided to give it a shot.


    She took off her clothes and went into the water. The water was pleasantly warm.


    The floor was gradually getting deeper and in less than a dozen steps water already reached her waist.


    The water was very clear here; Feather could easily see the floor. She looked through the water at her feet and noticed that water here had a distinct bluish hue. She scooped up a bit of water with her hand, and it still had that hue, even when taken out of the lake. It looked a bit strange, but Feather thought nothing of it.


    She went a bit further but suddenly there was no support under her feet and she abruptly sunk into the water.


    It was her first time seeing a real lake, so she had no idea how the floor underwater was much deeper than it seemed, especially in such a clear water. She thought she could safely go for at least several steps more.


    Alas, the floor was steeply going down here, and she suddenly sunk under the water.


    As she had never seen so much water in her life, she thusly didn''t know how to swim, and the water flowed into her nose, she tried to breathe with the mouth, but that made it even worse.


    Big wave flew out of the lake and threw her onto the shore.


    She coughed violently until her eyes teared.


    She found her clothes. They were completely drenched by the wave which threw her out of the water.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Thankfully, it was warm in the cave, and the air was dry, so she didn''t need to worry about catching a cold.


    She spread the clothes on the ground and lay down next to them.


    In a bit of time, she didn''t even notice how after the day''s pressure she fell asleep.


    After she woke up, Feather dressed, ate a bit of dry meat and vegetables and then went up the circular path and checked. There was no sign that someone came here aside from her.


    In fact, Feather didn''t know how much time had passed. There was nothing in the cave that could indicate time for her.


    There was nothing to do here, so she took out the swords and did two rounds of exercising.


    After exercising she sat and thought hard.


    She already checked the cave up and down yesterday. There was nothing there and the chance to get out of here, if there was one, could only be found at another side of the lake.


    So, the only possibility for her to survive was to learn swimming.


    She obviously wouldn''t repeat yesterday''s mistake and would start to learn closer to the shore.


    Only when she learned how to swim would she try to find another shore once more.


    This way two days had passed and all was going according to the plan.


    After waking up, Feather would exercise and then go into the lake and try to swim.


    On the third day, a new worry appeared. She had no more water in the flask.


    It didn''t alarm her at first. But when she tried to fill the flask, it melted into nothing as soon as it touched the water.


    It was truly bizarre, as she was swimming in the water every day and nothing happened to her.


    Feather was afraid to drink the water after that. But thinking to several days ago, how she gulped not a small amount of it and was still alive, she decided that she could probably drink the water from the lake safely.


    As expected, nothing happened, but that reminded her of a more pressing problem. The food she had was also limited.


    Surely, she could drink from the lake, and it seemed like nothing happened to her. Perhaps, it was the special property of this water not to harm living beings, she had read about such a water before.


    But the food was a different matter.


    When it came to food, there was nothing in the cave for her to eat.


    The tree could''ve had fruits, but it didn''t even bloom right now.


    It''s not like she could gnaw on its branches or leaves. And she couldn''t wait for it to fruit.


    So she had to learn swimming as soon as possible.


    Several more days went by in this fashion.


    Feather was swimming better and better. She could already more or less swim back and forth along the shore. Until she decided to try once more.


    Feather observed the cave carefully and decided to swim down the wall. That way it should be easier. The shore, which she couldn''t see from here, could only possibly lie somewhere beside the wall anyway.


    She went into the water and moved slowly along the wall. From time to time she would stop and observe everything around her.


    It was not easy for her to swim, but she persevered.


    Alas, she couldn''t see anything resembling a shore even after fifteen minutes of swimming.


    And at that time, she felt her leg cramped.


    The shore was quite a distance away from her. There was only water around, and the wall was flat, so it was difficult for her to hold onto it.


    Feather turned around and went back to the shore as fast as she could.


    Cramps were getting worse. She was halfway back already when she felt she couldn''t continue. She didn''t even felt like panicking. A pity, she thought, sinking into the water once more.


    Next instant she was thrown out of the water to the familiar shore. After coughing water out, Feather looked at the lake in doubt. Was there some strong underwater current?

 A Lullaby (3)

    Feather was stubborn, and just that bit won''t be enough to stop her.


    After resting properly, she went into the lake once more. This time she went down the opposite wall.


    She went as far as twenty minutes long and all was well, except there was nothing like a shore in sight aside from the one she''d already been to.


    She returned to the shore and lay down on the floor looking at the ceiling.


    There was nothing there. Feather had checked both sides of the cave and couldn''t see anything resembling another shore or any kind of passage.


    But she hadn''t explored all the lake yet. The lake was so big that even after going far into it, she still hadn''t managed to see the other side. That meant there could be a passage there.


    ''I need to go further,'' she decided.


    And to go further, she would need to disregard her safety.


    If she didn''t find an exit she would have to die either way. There was only a week''s worth of food left.


    Feather rested once more and decisively went into the water. If she had to die either way, she''d rather not give up.


    So she went all the way she could go. Though she was fit, Feather only learned how to swim for a week. In the end, after an hour of struggling she could go further no more.


    She couldn''t see a shore. Even the shore she''d left she couldn''t see anymore.


    The water was warm, and the light was lulling. It was rippling with her every movement throwing reflexes on the wall.


    The depth of the lake was glowing and welcoming.


    She woke up on the shore once more. Feather didn''t know how much time had passed but she had an inkling of how this happened.


    She had breakfast, exercised, and went into the water once more.


    She had to check to be sure.


    ...


    It was strange. The water was completely still until she was tired. As soon as she tired herself out, she would be washed ashore.


    There she would rest and go into the water again, and be washed back after tiring herself out once more.


    ...


    This cycle went for several days, but she was still unable to reach her destination.


    She didn''t even felt a bit nervous anymore, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, to be washed ashore after nearly drowning.


    Another three days had passed.


    It was longer and longer that she was able to stay afloat.


    Today, she went on for more than five hours, and in the end, there was a shore!


    Finally!


    Feather was ecstatic.


    She nearly drowned at that moment because she forgot herself with happiness. But Feather quickly caught herself. She wouldn''t end as silly as drowning just as the salvation was in sight.


    She left all her things on the shore, but that didn''t matter to her now. Even without all these things, as long as she was alive.


    She felt herself reenergized and swam to the shore with all her might.


    And then she saw there a tree. Fire-blazing orange tree.


    She didn''t know how she managed not to see it earlier.


    It should be another tree, right?The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    There are many such trees in the world, aren''t there?


    No, there are just too perfect conditions for this kind of trees there. So there were actually two of them in this cave!


    Feather dashed out of the water. ''Let it be another shore! Please, Gods, let it be another shore,'' she prayed.


    Alas, a miracle didn''t happen. There were her clothes and backpack lying on the floor.


    Feather slowly stopped. She looked dejectedly around. It was the same small part of the cave beside the lake. The same tree. Even her clothes were there.


    It took her five long hours to circle this lake, and in the end, there was nothing.


    Nothing resembling a passageway that could''ve led her away.


    Feather collapsed on the ground. She was exhausted. Physically and mentally.


    There probably could be an underwater passageway, but who knows how much time it would take her to explore the bottom of the lake, even if she could hold her breath long enough.


    She checked her bag. The food she had left there were just several tiny pieces of dried meat. No matter how she tried to economize, in the end, it still was depleted.


    Feather tried not to think of it and went to sleep.


    After a lot of swimming, she was so tired that she''d fallen asleep almost instantly.


    This night she saw a dream.


    She dreamed of herself being a little girl of four or five years old.


    She was there with her elder cousin brother. There was another man with them. That man, she recalled seeing him on portraits. He was her father.


    She only remembered her father from the portraits. She was too little when he died.


    They went to a village. The village was small; there were only three houses there. All of them were dilapidated, there were holes and moss on the walls.


    Then, there was a well in the center of the village.


    They went to the well. The earth around the well was dry and cracked. Feather looked into the well, there was water there, alas, deep deep down. It was a tiny layer of water just barely covering the stones on the well''s bottom.


    Her father stood beside her and she heard him say:


    "You see, there is still water at the bottom of a hole."


    Feather woke up and lay down watching the cave''s ceiling.


    What did her father mean, there was water?


    Of course, there was. A full lake worth of water.


    What did he say else? She tried hard to recall the exact phrase.


    ''Something about me seeing the water at the well? No, it wasn''t the well, he didn''t say the well. How did he put it? At the bottom of a hole? A hole?''


    Did it had to do with the hole? Why would father tell her about the hole? Why did it even matter now, she was already inside the one. It wasn''t like she could just go and come out of here through that hole.


    Or could she?


    Feather sat abruptly.


    No one had come into the cave after her, so she had forgotten about it.


    She was so caught up in exploring the lake that she had completely overlooked this possibility. The possibility to return the way she came in here.


    Feather went to the circular path but found that she couldn''t tell which part of the passage she exactly came from. There were three possible places which were similar to the one she remembered.


    The ceiling at all three places was quite high, and there was nothing in the cave to climb on. But she didn''t give up just yet.


    Feather went around the cave and found some pieces of crystal. Then she went and tried throwing these pieces at the ceiling.


    She spent several hours doing this, but to no effect.


    The stones were bouncing off the wall. Not one went through.


    Feather was disappointed but not dispirited.


    If the stones couldn''t go through the hole, it doesn''t mean she couldn''t. She just had to find a way to reach the ceiling. Perhaps it was a hole which only let animated objects through it.


    There was the water with such properties in this cave, wouldn''t it be logical if the hole was the same?


    Feather circled the cave several more times but found nothing she could climb on.


    Aside from her and the tree, there was nothing here inside.


    She looked at the tree. How great it would be if she could eat its fruits.


    She finished the last of her food just earlier while throwing the stones at the ceiling.


    The tree was the only thing in there which she could climb on. If she could move it into the passage and climb it she would be able to reach the ceiling. It was a pity to cut it, but it was a way for her to survive.


    Feather took out her swords and tried to chop at the tree.


    She felt the tree looking at her with contempt. Her swords didn''t leave even a tiny mark on it.


    There was nothing to do in the cave. And no matter how she tried, in the end, she didn''t find a way out.


    The tree, she also had no way to cut.


    No matter how many times she tried, not even a mark was left at where she chopped with her swords. It wasn''t a treasure-tree for nothing.


    Trying to break crystals off the wall and climb them also didn''t have an effect, as she wasn''t able to do it either.


    She went for several days without food already and wasn''t feeling so well.


    Take into account all her exercises while trying to cut the tree and break the walls. She spent a lot of energy.


    Her intestines hurt. It was a numb pain, the kind that can be easily disregarded, but which was always there, slowly tainting your existence with itself.


    To not go nuts she did her best to distract herself with her sword-training.


    She knew, that she would die this way faster, but faster or slower didn''t matter much here.


    Feather was prideful and stubborn. No matter the circumstances she would not let herself give up. But she herself didn''t know anymore, for what kind of miracle she was waiting.


    With time, she found it harder and harder to move.


    The pain wasn''t bothering her that much anymore. Either it stopped, or she had just grown numb to it.


    She was laying on the floor and watching the walls, the tree, and the water.


    As she stopped moving, it was so quiet here.


    She always looked for a way to survive, so she had never noticed how quiet and peaceful it was here.


    Feather could hear every leaf on the tree, she could hear even tiniest ripples of water. She could hear her heart drumming heavily in her ears. She could hear herself breathing. She thought that she could even hear the crystal walls emitting light.


    The time moved slowly. It was like it was stretched across this cave. Feather could hear it.


    All these sounded like a lullaby to her. She slowly drifted from and to sleep. In her sleep, she wouldn''t be hungry, and she wouldn''t be in pain.

 Green (-)

    The cave was undisturbed for many years.


    Green found it very comfortable living here.


    He was lying at the bottom of the lake and meditating when the sound of steps reached him.


    Someone was walking by the shore.


    Green opened an eye and looked up through the layers of fire. In the weak light of the cave walls, he saw a little shadow carefully probing around.


    ''A human?'' it had been so long since he had last seen a living human. ''What is it doing here? Did the hole open up?'' he thought.


    There was an unstable hole at the ceiling of the cave. It would appear occasionally, letting in some animals from time to time.


    Green didn''t mind eating those small things. Not that he needed to actually eat, but as they would die in here anyway, why not have a feast.


    But a human was different.


    Green wasn''t a man-eater.


    Still, it would die in here like any other.


    Also Green wasn''t a vicious magical beast, he wasn''t a particularly benevolent one either.


    He liked being alone, and would not go to greet the human just because it had fallen into the cave.


    It was that human fate, nothing to do with him.


    That was what he thought for a moment.


    But the next moment his eye suddenly constricted.


    After looking around a cave for just a bit, the human went to the lake and washed its hands.


    And nothing happened.


    ''What?!'' the Green was immensely surprised. ''How come a human can just come and wash its hands in the liquid fire like it''s nothing?!''


    The liquid fire was a very rare form of fire. It was a transparent liquid with a bit of light-blue hue. And it had all the properties of fire except it wasˇ­ well, liquid.


    By all means, the human''s hands should''ve been burned to a crisp. But they weren''t.


    It was as if the lake here was filled with ordinary water.


    But that definitely wasn''t the case.


    The tree in the cave was a very rare natural treasure Fireleaves Treasure Tree. Not to say about it being able to produce a fruit only once in a thousand years, it could only grow in the natural environment with abundant fire energies. And this was exactly the case with the cave. Its walls were made of Earthfire Crystal which was rich in fire energy and was able to provide the nutrition for the tree.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    And it was even more so with the lake as the lake was full of not anything else but liquid fire.


    Green was able to live in the lake because he was a dragon and he had affinities to earth, water and fire. In fact, the environment in this cave was just perfect for him to cultivate.


    For people, it was bad to have more than one affinity as it obstructed their growth. But it was not the case for magical beasts. On the contrary, magical beasts had a natural talent for merging elemental energies, so the more affinities a beast had, the more powerful it would be upon reaching maturity.


    It was harder to grow for more powerful ones, but if they survived they would be the rulers in the world of magical beasts. One affinity was a common magical beast. Only the ones having two affinities were considered something in the magical beast society. The ones having three affinities were elders and aristocrats. And the King had four.


    As for those with five or six affinities, there were none of them, as the ones born with that much talent had a very great toll on their bodies and died right after birth. Not even the dragon bodies were able to contain so much power, nothing to say of any other beast.


    Green''s interest was thoroughly picked.


    To be able to contact with liquid fire and not be burned, just affinity alone was not enough.


    It meant this human had to have some sort of fire constitution.


    It was hard to say now if this human was unlucky or not to fall in this cave.


    If it really had a fire constitution, this cave could possibly provide the human with a rare opportunity to nourish its body. That was once in a lifetime chance.


    Green decided to observe the human.


    The human went around the cave several times.


    It was apparent it was looking for an exit.


    A pity it was bound to fail as there was no exit here.


    After it found nothing in the cave, it took off clothes and went into the fire.


    Now, Green could tell that the human was a girl. It was really hard for magical beasts to tell human gender while it was wearing clothes. Well, it was hard for humans to tell magical beasts apart too. It''s natural if they are not your species. That''s why all magical beasts referred to humans as ''it'' and reserved ''he'' and ''she'' for their own.


    The girl went into the lake. And then stumbled and fell into the fire.


    ''Oh, stupid creature, why would you go into the lake if you can''t swim?'' Green sighed and willed for the fire in the lake to throw the girl out.


    The funny thing was that although the human obviously swallowed some of the fire, still nothing bad happened to it.


    So it was clear that its constitution wasn''t just any. It was evidently one of the top-class fire constitutions.


    ''Well,'' Green thought. It was probably the fate that brought them together.


    He watched as the girl learned to swim.


    Green was only able to praise the little one''s indomitable spirit.


    It went into the lake once and once again.


    Even after nearly drowning several times it didn''t give up.


    Green didn''t mind giving the human a helping claw. He had grown an admiration for it in the past several days.


    He even was a bit sad after the food the human had was consumed.


    That meant he wouldn''t be able to enjoy watching it for much longer.


    Time went by fast.


    The girl couldn''t move anymore. It was lying ashore looking into the lake. Was it even seeing anything?


    Green thought regretfully, that it was the time to say goodbye. Not that they ever greeted each other.


    He looked around. Where was it? He decided to give the human a parting gift.


    He reached a claw and took an enormous piece of shed skin. He didn''t need it, but for a human, it would be a valuable treasure. Humans were good at producing different useful things from discarded skins, scales, and horns.


    The lake seethed and the figure donned green robes came ashore.


    Green didn''t intend to show his true form to anyone, and he didn''t know if there was anyone outside the cave, so he assumed his human form.


    His hands still looked a bit like claws, but otherwise, he looked just as a human would.


    He took the human''s magical purse and placed his skin into it. Then he added some fallen crystals and leaves. They were of no use to him, and even if they were he had a full cave of them. He even went as far as taking one of the branches from the tree and giving it to Feather. What she couldn''t do no matter how she tried, Green was able to accomplish with one sweep of a claw.


    He then took the girl into his hands and opened the hole out.

 The Ruby Town (1)

    Feather was sleeping. She dreamed of food. The food smelt nice. Its flavor was drifting in the air, dark-yellow with a tint of green. And there was a bit of white-blue floating around. It looked yummy.


    Feather got up and saw a big roasted piglet lying there on the grass. And there was a little hill of berries on a big burdock leaf next to it.


    ''What a nice dream to have before death,'' she thought.


    She looked around, but there was no one there. Only the forest was on all sides.


    She slowly came up to the food, took a knife and sliced a big piece of meat. The meat was juicy and delicious.


    She took a handful of berries. They were astringent and sweet. Together with roasted meat, they tasted unexpectedly great.


    She didn''t notice how there was not even a bone left of the piglet.


    She was feeling amazingly well. She was so sleepy lately, but now Feather wasn''t feeling even a bit drowsy.


    The wind was resounding in the tree crowns. The forest was full of lively birds'' chirping. The sun was shining through the trees. The moss was shiny green. Here and there were growing brightly colored mushrooms and berries.


    Feather was going through the magical forest. All her being was singing.


    She breathed magical air with all her body.


    It was completely different from the dry warmth of the blue cave.


    The sun was warming her, and she was feeling alive like never before in her life.


    Was this the Heaven? It was said that after death people would be taken there to live with the Gods.


    No one knew for sure though, as no one ever returned from the afterlife. Obviously, it was very good there as no one was willing to.


    After wandering around for a couple of hours, Feather saw a gap in the trees. She went there, and there was a road.


    The road was wide enough for two carriages to be able to bypass each other. Feather looked both sides and went right.


    The further she went the stranger she felt.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    She hadn''t gone out of home much before, but this definitely looked like a road to the Ruby Town.


    The Ruby Town was a town nearest to her family manor.


    Was there such a similar place in Heaven? Or did this mean she somehow magically was back to Cheeseworld? Was she alive?


    Feather went down the road and in an hour she saw the gate of a town.


    And it was The Ruby Town.


    She was back to life.


    Feather didn''t mind being alive. If anything, she was happy.


    She quickly went to the side of the road, took the piece of cloth from her backpack and covered her head.


    She didn''t know how much time passed since the time she fell into the hole. And she didn''t know if there was anyone still looking for her. But it was better safe than sorry.


    Then she took out a sword. Not one of her dual swords, but inconspicuous one she took with her as a spare.


    It would be suspicious for a person to travel alone unarmed. Although there were martial artists who fought with their bare hands, they often had to prove themselves and go through rigorous fightings. That, she didn''t want.


    A sword would restrain most of the people from anything stupid. People tended to wisen up when they could potentially get hurt. Many would be unwilling to invite troubles.


    She continued by the road and in less than fifteen minutes reached the town''s gate.


    Three guards were sitting there playing dice, watching lazily people go by. The atmosphere was extremely lax.


    The guards were there mostly in case of disputes at the entrance of the town.


    Nothing interesting had happened there for several decades already.


    The walls built in case of a magical beasts tide were maintained in the best condition but hadn''t been used for a long time.


    There was the main headquarters of the most terrifying war family in the nation here nearby. Who would want to stir troubles here?


    On a wall by the gates, there was a noticeboard.


    What had stricken Feather was a portrait placed there.


    There were a portrait and a description, and there was a price.


    Fifty copper coins.


    That was a price placed on a wanted notice.


    Feather couldn''t believe her eyes.


    Although fifty copper coins were still money and could last a little poor family of commoners for a month, to put such a reward for finding a missing member of a noble familyˇ­ weren''t her relatives ashamed of themselves?


    The other strange thing about the poster was: obviously, her family knew that she had fallen into the hole, why were they looking for her in the town? Was it just in case she was able to get out of there? Butˇ­


    There were too many uncertainties about all this. Nevertheless, whatever those people have planned, she already successfully escaped them. She didn''t want to spend more of her time dwelling on it.


    Still, even if fifty coppers were little money, there might be people who would report her. She would have to be wary.


    Thinking would not fill a stomach. For now, what she needed most, was finding a place to eat. Feather wondered if it was due to the time she starved in the cave, but she was quite hungry despite the whole piglet she has wolfed down in the forest.


    By the way, she mused on where that piglet came from. When she woke up, it was already lying there fully prepared to be eaten.


    Did it have something to do with how she was able to get out of the cave?


    All these just didn''t make sense.


    She didn''t remember anything between falling asleep in the cave and waking up to yummy food in the forest. Was the blue cave just a dream? It couldn''t be. How did she escape the chase if she didn''t fall into the hole?


    ''Gosh, my head is starting to hurt! All''s well that ends well. I''m alive, and that''s what matters. Who cares how.'' was Feather''s concluding thought.

 Eating Competition (2)

    Feather was walking around the town looking for a place to eat when she heard a loud welcoming voice.


    "Hello, dear friends! We are welcoming everyone to attend our bi-annual eating competition! Those who end in the first three places wouldn''t need to pay for the food eaten!"


    ''What a coincidence,'' she thought.


    She was glad to take part in a competition. She was feeling really hungry.


    She didn''t intend to contest for the first three places; she had enough money to pay for her food. Nevertheless, in such a competition she wouldn''t need to wait for food to be prepared and the food there shouldn''t be subpar either.


    In any case, it was a win-win situation.


    She followed the voice and soon was able to see a giant crowd.


    The Ruby Town bi-annual eating competition was a favorite event of the townsfolk.


    The food there would be tasty and abundant.


    Even if they had to pay, it was worthwhile.


    Also, it was a bit of a sporty activity. The people would make bets and cheer on their favorite eaters.


    After the competition, there would be a party and dancing.


    All in all, it was a good holiday for all the townspeople.


    The favorites of the competition were seven big man and two plump women. All of them were well-known for their big appetites.


    Everyone was actively discussing the competitors and their chances.


    The crowd was noisy.


    Feather immediately regretted coming here.


    There were too many people.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Feather spent her life living in solitude. A big crowd such as this wasn''t something she was feeling comfortable with.


    When she''d come to the town in the past, there always was a guard with her, at the very least one. And she was almost always accompanied by Starlight. She had no interest in the town and wouldn''t go if her brother didn''t invite her.


    Now she was there all alone, and there were unfamiliar people all around.


    She didn''t have the brother to count on anymore.


    Feather almost jumped in fright, when someone put a hand on her shoulder.


    "Hey, bro! Are you new around here?"


    She looked back and saw a thin young man. He was obviously not very well-off, but he was smiling affably to her.


    ''That''s great, has he taken me for a man?'' Feather thought. Well, she did wear a male''s clothes for convenience''s sake.


    Seeing how his target was apprehensive of him the young man was fast to continue speaking.


    "It''s not what you think, bro, I''m not a swindler. I work here. Would you like to make a bet on who will win? Or maybe you would like to participate? You see, I got paid if I introduce you to betting and you lose." he laughed.


    Feather looked at him in amazement. Was he alright telling her that?


    She shrugged. "Alright, take me there. I guess I''ll bet."


    ˇ­


    Surprisingly, the young man really wasn''t a swindler, and he swiftly helped Feather to reach the center of the crowd.


    There stood several booths which were taking bets from people.


    "Hey, hey! Big Bucket! Look here, help my bro make a bet," the young man shouted.


    Big Bucket looked at incoming boys:


    "Alright, Buddy, but you know rules. Who''s your brother betting on?"


    Buddy turned to Feather.


    "You told me, I can participate?" she asked.


    "Yes, of course."


    "Then I''ll bet on myself."


    "O.k. you''ve heard him, Bucket." Buddy turned to the man.


    "It will require you a participation fee." Bucket said, looking at a poorly dressed boy before him.


    "How much," Feather asked.


    "One silver. We have to make sure that those who lose can pay for their meal."


    "Alright," she fished two silver coins from her purse. "One for participation and one is a bet."


    Bucket was an experienced gambler, so nothing showed on his face, but inside he was amazed at how Buddy was always able to find the fattest fish in the crowd.


    Who could have thought that the brat before him was so rich despite his looks.


    People around here would mostly bet a couple of coppers. And now he was seeing a losing bet made on a whim, and it was in silver to boot.


    Bucket swiftly produced two planks with numbers and gave them to the boy.


    "This one is for participation, and this one is for betting. After all is finished, you can come and have your change," he smiled at the boy.


    "Alright," Feather said and went to the area designated for the participants.


    ˇ­


    When the boy left, Bucket turned to Buddy.


    "How did you know?" he asked. "I couldn''t tell at all."


    "Oh, come on, that''s easy," Buddy smirked. "He may have worn commoner clothes, but who would ever dress this neatly. And look at how cold and arrogant he looks. Everyone else excited but him. He really stands out from the crowd. Obviously, he''s a noble fledgling, who dressed up for some amusement."


    Bucket nodded. What Buddy said made sense. It was good to have him here with his observational skill.

 Feast (3)

    Feather went to the contestants'' area.


    There were many people, big and small, wishing to join the competition. Some were joining for the win, some for the fun of it. There were more than a hundred participants altogether.


    The area was situated right next to the big plaza.


    On the plaza, many tables were arranged in neat rows. That was where the competition would take place.


    The food was being made in the taverns and pubs around the plaza. All of the owners were proud to take part in this. Also, the participation as a chief was to prove their ability to all the people around. It was not an easy feat to produce the astronomical amount of food needed for the competition.


    The flavors flowing above the plaza made Feather salivate.


    It was great that she''d made it in time to participate. Where would she find a tavern to feed her while that competition was in full swing?


    The rule for the competition was to continue until the last person was no longer able to eat.


    Usually, competitions wouldn''t end in just an hour or two. The longest it had lasted was four hours and a half.


    Rows of benches for spectators were set around the tables at the edges of the plaza. The people were sitting there already preparing to cheer on their favorites.


    Finally, the competition was about to start.


    The participants were let out on the plaza.


    The tables were filled with food already.


    Meat, fish, vegetables, and whatever else, there were all kinds of food one might think of.


    Everyone was excited.


    The host stepped out and started introducing the most renowned competitors. But Feather was not concerned, so she didn''t listen. The only thing she was interested in was the food right in front of her. But it would be bad to start eating before the competition started, wouldn''t it?


    After the round of introductions, the host started describing the food made for the contest.


    Feather was infuriated: ''For the Gods sake! Can we start eating already?''This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    In the end, the competition still started, even if everyone had to listen to an hour worth of rubbish spouted by the host.


    The first hour of the competition wasn''t very interesting. Most participants were good eaters, so just a very few dropped out.


    After contestants dropped out, all the food they didn''t manage to finish up was divided between the poor.


    That was the tradition of the festival. And that was the reason this competition was much welcomed by the people.


    In the second hour, the number of dropouts rose substantially. And the people around the plaza was even more cheerful after finishing up remaining food.


    The contestants were dropping out one by one and soon only the ten strongest remained. Most of them were well-known townspeople. But there were two, who stood out immensely. One was a thin man in his thirties, dressed in the usual outfit of southern mercenaries. He didn''t resemble a southerner, though. The other one was a boy of around fourteen.


    Both were eating seemingly leisurely, but the number of plates laying by the side showed, that neither was inferior to other competitors.


    And with each other contestant giving up, both of them stood out even more. Until, in the end, only two of them remained.


    They continued rather unhurriedly as if the competition didn''t matter to them at all.


    Still, the amount of food they had eaten was enormous, and their speed was off the charts.


    In the end, the man stretched and exhaled: "I''m full. Thanks for the meal."


    The boy didn''t even notice anything, as he continued to ravenously consume the food.


    The man looked at the boy with a bit of interest. That was the first time he met someone who could out-eat him.


    The time went by but the boy didn''t seem to intend to stop. In the end, the host had to go forth and stop him, because as embarrassing as it was, the food prepared for the competition had run out.


    What happened next would be a talk of the town for the next several months. The boy finished the last bit of food left before him, after which he was obviously unsatisfied. Then he noticed the barrels of water at the side, went there, and downed three of them one after the other.


    The competition ended just like that, with two first places snatched from the hands of locals by two dark horses. What was even more embarrassing how thin both of them were.


    Was it the rumored abyssal stomach? To have two of them meet at such a place at the same time. People were astonished.


    In the middle of the competition, Feather felt something was wrong with her.


    She thought she would eat a bit, while everyone was at it, and leave quietly without arousing much attention.


    But she just couldn''t stop. The more she ate, the more hungry she became. She felt like she would die if she didn''t continue eating.


    She felt terrible. It was the first time in her life that she felt so famished. Even when she starved in the cave it wasn''t that bad.


    She ate so much delicious food, but it didn''t help.


    When they told her the competition ended, she was at her wit''s end. She needed more food.


    Luckily, there were barrels of water standing nearby, so she was able to somehow suppress her heaven-defying appetite.


    She had drunk three of them in one mouthful before her head somehow cleared.


    She was still hungry, but it wasn''t as unbearable now.


    Of course, Feather had no way to know that her incredible appetite was the direct consequence of drinking liquid fire for more than two months.


    She didn''t have the slightest idea what the ''water'' in the cave was.


    Because of her special constitution after drinking that ''water'' great changes had taken place in her body. Her being able to stomach anything edible and something not edible to normal humans was only one of the consequences.

 Beautician Shop (4)

    After the contest was finished, Feather directly went to retrieve her winnings.


    Although there was no prize for the first place, was there anyone else who would bet on her? So she expected her winnings from the bet shouldn''t be too shabby.


    The host wanted to stall the winner and interview him or make him do something humorous for the crowd, but Feather was so annoyed by being hungry, that the aura she emanated made the host change his mind. The host had no choice but to entertain the crowd himself. He quickly redirected people''s focus to the dancing everyone was expecting after the eating competition.


    Bucket nudged Buddy when he saw Feather going their way: "Isn''t that your chap? Why is he so voracious? Didn''t you say he was a noble? Do nobles has some trouble feeding their kids?"


    "I don''t know. He may have snuck far away from home. And, you know, if his appetite always this great, I assume even richest nobles would have troubles feeding this one." both men were astonished by the way the competition had gone.


    The winning from the lottery was not small.


    As Feather was the only one who had betted on herself out of lots and lots of people, she got over a hundred silvers. Even for some mages, that was a considerable sum, not to say about commoners, who could live lavishly for ten years if they had such money.


    After getting her money, Feather went to look for an inn.


    She never intended to stay in the town, but spending over two months in the cave made her reconsider. What she needed now was a good bed to sleep. The crystalline floor of the cave wasn''t exactly the most comfortable bedding.


    As the next town was several days travel from here, Feather thought it was apt to rest before going anywhere.


    Strolling the streets, she came across one particular shop, which gave her an idea.


    Starlight several times reminded her to be especially careful about her hair.


    And now she was standing in front of a beautician shop.


    The sign on the front of the shop had a beautiful rainbow-colored tress and a comb on it.


    The shop was brightly lit inside. The manager lifted her head at the clinking of the entrance-bell but was disappointed after seeing the visitor. She could say at a glance that she won''t be able to sell anything to him.


    The visitor was a poor boy. The manager swept her glance over and ignored him.


    ''What is he doing here? Is he lost?'' she thought.


    At that moment the bell at the entrance ringed once more, and another customer went in.


    ''Now, that''s more like it,'' the manager thought.


    The newcomer was a grandly dressed lady.


    The manager immediately went to welcome her.


    "Lady Tan, welcome! Thank you for always patronizing our shop. What would you like to get today? I should say, just earlier today, new stocks were delivered to us. The Gold Association''s newly developed mousse and hair coloring pastes. If you remember, there have been rumors since last month, and they have finally arrived. Mr. Gold assured me that the ones in this batch are particularly good and won''t wash out for up to a month."The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Aahˇ­ Young Master Goldheart is as eccentric as ever. Why would I want to wear the same color for a whole month?" actually, Lady Tan wanted to say ''stupid'' instead of ''eccentric'' but she didn''t dare. Those of the higher positions in society had rights to be stuˇ­ khm, eccentric. No one would have the nerve to call them that even behind their back much less to their face. She only dared to envy but not voice it.


    "Oh, this is not the only thing about it. It''s much more colorful and doesn''t require to wash off your previous color. Very convenient," the manager said.


    "Well, if you praise it so, it must be at least decent," Lady Tan said. "Let me try it out."


    "Here, wait a moment for me to get master Sci to come down," the manager invited Lady Tan to sit on a sofa, while she herself went to the second floor to get the master hairdresser.


    Feather looked at everything quietly. She wasn''t accustomed to the rules in such places, so Feather just waited for the manager to free herself, so she would be able to ask for what she needed.


    When the manager finally came down from the second floor, she first assured the lady that the master would come down in a moment and then turned to the boy still stupidly standing there.


    "You are still here?" she was extremely displeased with the boy. Didn''t he have anything better to do than stand at the center of the shop and gaze around? "Go somewhere else don''t disturb our customers!"


    "Why are you wasting your breath, just throw this little sh*t away," Lady Tan commented from the sofa.


    Feather mentally gasped. Being disregarded was nothing new, but being looked at with disdain was the first for her.


    "Actually," she meekly said "I would like to buy some of the stuff you have here."


    "Buy?" Lady Tan waved to the manager to not interfere and started to interrogate the boy. "Do you even know how the money look?"


    Feather didn''t know how to react. She never before in her life met with such unreasonably aggressive behavior.


    The only aggressive people she had ever met were her family guards. That was characteristic of their profession. Still, that was easily resolved, as all she had to do was beat them up at the training ground. She had the capacity to do so.


    In fact, many of the family guards who had a chance to spar against her took a liking to her afterward. All fighters had a weak spot when it came to talented kids.


    But she couldn''t just beat up this lady before her. Well, she could, but it wasn''t in accordance with her intention to stay inconspicuous. If she were to go fight every person looking at her in a wrong wayˇ­


    Facing this oppressive atmosphere, she wasn''t afraid, she was at a loss.


    So she decided to ignore the lady.


    "I heard you just got very good hair coloring pastes? Is there one of a brown color? I''ll buy everything you have in stock."


    "We can''t sell you everything even if you had money. Which is obviously not the case." the manager gave annoying boy cold shoulder.


    "It''s alright, I''ll buy from you at a double price."


    When Feather said this, both the lady and the manager gasped with astonishment.


    "Quit boasting! As if a little beggar like you will have such money!"


    In the response, Feather fished out of her pouch a golden coin which rendered both women in the store speechless.


    "Will this be enough?" she asked.


    "Absolutely enough, young master!" manager''s attitude made a complete 180-degree turn at the sight of money. "I will get someone to deliver your goods right away."


    "Just give it to me directly," Feather said.


    The manager didn''t think to oppose anymore, so she swiftly brought out packages filled with the pastes. Feather put it into her spatial purse. At this point, she decided that the flashier she was in front of these two the less they would want to admit to anyone that they had this small incident.


    And just as she expected, after she left, the women unanimously agreed that they would never tell anyone about their meeting with this strange young master.


    Feather found a small inn to stay the night.


    The inn was tidy and clean despite being small.


    The owner was a bright man. He didn''t have prejudices as long as the client was able to pay.


    Feather paid a silver for two nights. The price was a bit high, but the accommodation was deserving.


    Then she asked the owner to send hot water to her room.


    The room was well-lit, there were a big soft bed, a chair, and a table. The windows were screened by curtains so the client would not be disturbed by anyone peeping from outside.


    In a moment a girl came holding a large wash-basin filled with hot water.


    Feather waited for the girl to go away and went to the basin. Next to the basin, she found a piece of soap. She washed and took out the coloring paste. She smeared her hair with it and waited for a while.


    After washing the paste away, her hair turned bright brown. Now, no matter who wanted to find her by the description her family put out they would not be able to.


    After that, she blissfully went to bed and fell asleep even before her head touched a pillow.

 Assassins (5)

    Feather awoke in the middle of the night because of the sudden splash of water and crash.


    Sharp sense of danger made her flip over the side, and a knife went through the bed in the place she was laying on just a moment before.


    It was completely dark in the room; Feather could barely see some outlines.


    "You idiot, you woke her up!" the voice sounded from the window.


    The other one, just right above her thundered:


    "She''s not here!"


    "It''s you; you made me go to the door" whined the one who stepped into the basin left from Feather''s evening bathing.


    There were three individuals in the room. Feather could tell, they weren''t highly professional. They failed to surprise her and didn''t know what to do next.


    "Light up the fire, let''s see what''s going on," ordered the first.


    ''Oh, no!'' Feather thought. If they lit up the fire, she would have no chance against them.


    She couldn''t let them do it.


    Feather anxiously thought what to do.


    Yesterday she left all her things on the table, which now was separated from her by a guy standing over the bed. And from what she could perceive he was twice as big as her.


    He was confused because he hadn''t found her. He''d got distracted by his accomplice turning over the basin of water, but he would certainly notice her if she were to move.


    And if she didn''t move, they will light up the fire and see her all the same.


    Having no choice, Feather swiftly made up her mind.


    With a distinct thud, she has fallen under the bed to the other from the men side.


    When they heard the thud, they all turned to the bed.


    Right at this moment Feather forcefully hit the legs of the one standing above the bed with her own, rolled out and dashed to the table.


    The assassins didn''t expect retaliation.


    "Guard the door, don''t let her go!" the first one was obviously the leader.


    The table was in the center of the room, the window on her left, the door on her right, and the bed behind her back.


    It might''ve seemed as she was surrounded but, in truth, as soon as she reached the table, she grabbed her purse and took out a sword.


    The stage reached a strange equilibrium.


    The assassins didn''t move, and Feather didn''t move either.


    Now that the sword was in her hand Feather felt confident and tried to strike up a conversation:This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    "Who are you, people?"


    "He-he, little lady, you don''t need to know this."


    They knew her identity! So it wasn''t a random assault. Feather was astonished. She didn''t know them, so they were here on someone''s errand. And they obviously tried to kill her just now. Just who would send assassins after her? And for what reason?


    Having no idea herself, Feather decided to ask assailants:


    "Who sent you here?"


    "As if we''d tell you," answered one of them.


    "Anyway, you are about to be dead. What''s the need for you to know?" they were definitely stalling for time.


    Feather flung the sword behind her. There were a screech and the sound of the sword coming out of the flesh.


    Then Feather bent and stroke back with her foot right where the chest of the man would be.


    The man flew back and fell crushing the bed.


    The unfortunate assassins were dumbfounded. No one told them the target was this strong. To throw a grown-up man fly with a casual kick.


    Of course, Feather put all her strength into this kick. But even she didn''t expect this result. She thought she would at most be able to make him stagger. For him to fly two meters to reach the wall was totally unexpected. Were these assassins this bad? Why hire such weaklings?


    The truth was, the assassins weren''t that weak. They might''ve not been the strongest available in the field but still not that bad. At least, they shouldn''t have had problems eliminating one girl, even if this girl was a good fighter.


    The problem once again lay with the matter of the cave. The liquid fire had strengthened Feather''s physique to humanly impossible level. Even if she wasn''t the strongest person in the world after that, she was now ways stronger than any average human. Count in that she was physically fit in the first place, and you got the picture.


    That was something the one sending them couldn''t have predicted. The benefits Feather reaped from the hole were heaven-defying.


    Unfortunately for her, what she got from there weren''t only benefits, but that''s the story for later.


    Now, as a result, unlucky assassins were at a loss. They really wanted to cry but had no tears.


    The deal was to kill a pampered little runaway-girl. Alas, the girl turned out to be a tiger in a sheep''s clothing. That wasn''t what they expected at all.


    "Shut up, you idiot! You''ll wake up the whole street!" the leader lashed out at his companion.


    So what, if the girl was stronger than they expected? It was just a girl anyway. They would merely raise the price to the client afterward. And if he didn''t pay, they''d simply sell the information, there were always customers for this sort of things.


    They slowly moved in the pitch black room, making sure that the prey wouldn''t be able to pass them and escape.


    Unfortunately, they didn''t know, that Feather had a huge advantage fighting in the darkness. After all, she specifically trained for it.


    She waited for them to close in on her. Then she swiftly went down bypassing the sword of the leader and positioning herself between the bandits and the window.


    Unlike what they worried about, she had no intentions to escape. She was cornering them so that they wouldn''t be able to run away. She had questions she wanted to ask them.


    One of the bandits thought she wanted to escape and threw a table at her, but she gracefully dodged. The table crashed into the window barricading it. The only exit left now was the door.


    Feather let herself be surrounded once more. Then she evaded swords, moved to the backs of her opponents, and stabbed at the nearest one.


    In this manner she continued to dodge and stab her opponents, appearing at their rears all the time. In the dark, they were not her equals. The wound she did couldn''t be considered serious, but they stacked over time.


    In several minutes the bandits were riddled with holes, and the blood loss started to get at them.


    In such a deep night, even if there was a commotion, no one would care enough to go and check, unless untimely patrol happened to walk nearby.


    The bandits were clear on that, but they never expected for the battle to last so long. And they weren''t the ones winning.


    "Retreat," commanded the leader.


    "Oh, no, you are not," Feather''s voice was leisurely but imposing. "Not until you''ve told me everything you know about this client of yours."


    With these words she struck the nearest bandit under the back of the knee, rendering him unable to move.


    In just a few moments, the situation the bandits were in turned into an inescapable one.


    They were still holding their swords, but now they could only defend.


    So their defense swiftly crumbled.


    Alas, they didn''t know anything of note about their client.


    The only thing Feather managed to find out, it was a man, probably.


    After interrogation, Feather left the bandits there, took her things, and went out.


    She didn''t care if the bandits would escape and how would they do it.

 Magpie Guild (6)

    Feather went into the night. The town was sleeping, and there was no one on the streets.


    Whoever had sent the assassins might have another plan to deal with her, so she needed to move.


    Unfortunately, there was no way to exit the town at night. The town''s gates would only be open during the day.


    Having nothing to do, Feather wandered the streets aimlessly.


    When she reached the center of the town, she noticed that unlike other places, the central plaza was brightly lit.


    There was a building which had two big lightpearls hanging at the entrance.


    At the left side of the door, it had a drawing of a big magpie holding a coin in its claw and looking curiously at Feather.


    ''Oh, right! That''s the Magpie Guild!''


    Feather had seen this building before but had never gone inside.


    The Magpie Guild was a gathering of information brokers and mercenaries.


    Whether one needed to get ahold of some rare information, investigate someone''s background, or find people to guard or fight on their behalf, all this could be done with magpies help. Rumors were that even if you need to steal something or kill someone, magpies could help if the price was adequate.


    The guild was cooperatively managed by two great families Darkblood and Lightblood.


    The Darkblood family specialized in information gathering, while Lightblood family managed information transmission. Every guild branch would have at least two managers who were great families descendants, one of Darkblood and the other of Lightblood family. And both of them would be mages, as only mages could perform some duties necessary for the guild. For example, information transmission was done through the light magic. That was also the reason Magpie Guild buildings always had a dominant position in the city and were one of the highest buildings too. Even the castles of landowners and city rulers had to be built the way they won''t obstruct clear line between Guild Towers.


    These preferences were given to the Guild because the Guild also served as the main communication provider to the kingdom. Whenever army or officials needed to send the message, it was through the means of the Magpies.


    The mercenaries mostly didn''t belong to the two families. If you needed the main power of Magpies to interfere, you''d need to pay the hefty sum. But if you don''t have money, there were always contracted mercenaries under Magpie Guild who could do your bidding.


    There were almost no constraint for one to become a Magpie mercenary. Whoever wanted could be one. You could be either a mage or a commoner, didn''t matter. All you needed to do was come to the Magpie Guild and register there. Consequently, you''d become a bronze rank mercenary.


    Of course, if you wanted to have access to better missions and get paid more, you would need to go through assessments, participate in Guild Tournaments, or complete missions. As a result, you would rise in rank and get better treatment from everyone.


    As Feather was mulling about all this, the door opened letting out the sounds of noisy babble. Two very drunk people came out of the building. They stumbled across the plaza and vanished to one of the streets.


    After the door closed the night was once again tranquil and quiet, revealing that there was some sort of a soundproof formation in place.


    From the look of it, the place wasn''t closed at night, so Feather went in.


    As she opened the door, the sound of hubbub struck her. The inside of the building was large and resembled an inn or tavern for the most part. There stood many tables with people around them laughing merrily and discussing something in loud voices.


    In the center of the room, there was a space cleared of furniture, and there was fighting going on there. Men were comparing notes, and the mob was commenting with vigor.


    There were two of them, one was of a smaller build and wore simple dark clothes. The other was a tall blonde man wearing loose dark-red clothes. One would expect the smaller one to be more nimble, but that was not the case. The blonde man was moving with peculiar grace avoiding any move from his opponent. They were not using any weapons for the match only hand-to-hand combat.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    The match concluded in a moment. The little man tried to create an opening for an attack but was flung out of the circle and crashed into a table. The blonde man stood there enjoying the round of applause from the spectators.


    When he stopped moving Feather was able to see how bizarre he looked. He was wearing a loose shirt and pants belted with a broad sash which was uncharacteristic of the Stonerule Kingdom. On his feet, he wore khussa, which made her think of some southern tribes she had read of. He was tanned, and Feather would really think he was a southerner if not for his vividly blonde hair.


    At that moment the man proclaimed loudly enough to overpower all the hubbub in the room:


    "Come on, come on! Who''s next! I''m paying!"


    Everyone laughed at him; no one was willing to go up and be beaten. Even if the man was paying for the spar, who would want to go and lose face?


    His name was Gold Lance, and he was well known here in magpie guild. His official rank was three silver star mercenary, just one star short of being the gold rank, but everyone knew he was stronger than his rank. Lance never paid attention to ranks, as there was no need to. He was perfectly well, being paid by The Gold Association. His rank at Magpie guild was just a little convenience to him.


    Today he was here to look for mercenaries. He would leave with the dawn. The men were needed to protect cargo. It was a big delivery, and he needed to take it to The Emerald City in under two weeks. He was short on time, and he was short on good men. A caravan required protection. He had a small team of his own, but the cargo this time was a little delicate, so after some consideration, he decided to get help from the Magpie Guild.


    Unfortunately for him, as he was on a tight schedule, he could only take those who were free at the moment. It was somewhat inconvenient, but there was nothing he could do about it.


    The little spar was a way for him to assess mercenaries, but after a couple of rounds, no one was willing to go against him.


    Feather knew nothing of this.


    The counter was on the other side of the room, so she needed to cross it. The most direct way to do this was to go through the center of the room. Seeing how the fighting stopped, she went where she intended.


    Lance was contemplating what to do when he noticed a boy making way to him. When he looked at the boy, his eyes lit up as he instantly recognized him. It was the same boy who had won eating competition earlier. Lance had wanted to talk to the boy then, but the boy was very swift and run away before Lance had a chance to strike a conversation.


    From the way the boy was looking around he was new here.


    Lance moved to intercept.


    Feather looked at the man who appeared to bar her way. The man was smiling from ear to ear and emanating a strong fighting intent. ''What a bother,'' she thought.


    "Little bro here, my name''s Lance. Would it be possible to ask you for a little spar?" the man cheerfully invited her.


    Feather looked for a way to avoid the man, but he was a seasoned fighter, so she didn''t see an opening to dodge him. From the look of it, she couldn''t escape the fight. Well, even if she were to lose there was no shame in it: a man before her was a lot older. It also didn''t look as if he had bad intentions. A little spar wouldn''t be bad, probably.


    The people around were cheering loudly at them.


    "Ha-ha, big bro Lance is shameless. Even little ones can''t escape his clutches."


    "It''s not shameless it''s desperate. No one wants to spar with him, so he can only bully kids."


    Everyone laughed.


    Feather took down her sword and backpack and courteously bowed to a man:


    "If you insist. I''m not good at hand-to-hand though."


    "It''s alright," a man smiled at her. "It''s just for a bit of amusement. You can strike first."


    The next moment he saw the boy before him vanish.


    Lance was prepared for the boy to be unusual, but it still took him by surprise. The boy was moving extremely fast. The strike came at the back of Lance''s legs, and it was so powerful that Lance nearly lost his standing.


    The boy didn''t try to use any fancy moves, just as he said, he was not proficient in hand-to-hand combat. But every move was precisely aimed at the blind spot of the opponent. And every strike was powerful beyond belief. No observer could see it, but Lance wondered if he would get bruises after this spar.


    The spar didn''t last long, in the end, Lance easily subdued the boy, but he was nevertheless impressed. ''How brilliant! I''ve found a gem.'' Lance wondered what would the fight be like, if the boy used the weapon he was proficient with.


    Feather stood up and bowed to the Lance once again. The easiest way to get rid of these battle maniacs was to lose against them.


    She intended to conclude her journey to the counter. Alas, the man had no intention to let go of her.


    He caught her by the shoulder and forcefully led to one of the tables and made her sit.


    "Sit down; I''ll treat you! What''s your name, by the way?" he was still smiling from ear to ear.


    "Bright..." Feather caught herself, but it was too late.


    She intended to use another name, but being asked so unexpectedly she blurted out her real name. Not all of it butˇ­


    "Oh, Bright. What an unusual name. Good. What would you like to drink?"


    There were many people at this table, and after asking her what she wanted, Lance sent one of them to get the drinks and food from the counter.


    Drinking and eating at the Magpie Guild was excessive as they didn''t specialize in it, but they still provided for those who were willing to pay ten times the price. Eating here was a luxury. Feather tried to decline, but Lance didn''t listen to her.


    "Say, Bright," Lance asked her, "do you have anything to do here? If not, why don''t you join us? We are going to The Emerald City in a bit, and we can use someone as good as you." He was sincere with his words; he really thought the boy before him was good. It would be great if he could rope this boy.

 A Caravan (1)

    They spent the rest of the night chatting. With the dawn, the company moved out of the city. As soon as the gates were open, the plaza outside the city gates was filled with people. The earliest in the morning was the busiest time for the merchants.


    A caravan was preparing to head out.


    As Gold Association didn''t announce the caravan in advance, only four other merchants joined it. As a result, there were five draft horses on the plaza, three of which belonged to The Gold Association.


    It wasn''t that The Gold Association couldn''t afford to use spatial purses, but that it was really not cost-efficient.


    For example, Feather''s pouch only had about two cubic meters of space. That was more than enough for a single traveler. But when you needed to transport cargo in large quantities that amount of space could not be considered as much.


    There were heavy limitations to how much inbuilt space artifacts could have. Outstanding artifacts could have a lot of inbuilt space, but firstly, to use them you''d have to be a mage, and not only that, you''d have to be a considerably powerful mage. And what mage would want to be a courier for commoners? Nonsense.


    As such, merchants mostly traveled in big caravans transporting cargos by horses. It was much more convenient. One draft horse could carry up to several tons of cargo.


    At the same time, while traveling together with fellow merchants, one could save money on guards. Big caravans required lots of guards, but small caravans needed guards too. As the bandits along the way were mostly the same, amount of guards you needed didn''t depend too much on your caravan size. That way going with a larger caravan was way more economical.


    The draft horses were way bigger than common riding horses. Generally, everything that could be ridden on was called horses in the Cheeseworld. There were many species of horses. Common riding horses were about a human height tall, had powerful hind legs and short forelegs. The sturdy legs made them excellent runners. Long tails balanced them out, and long necks allowed them to reach tree crowns to eat yummy leaves. Their heads were small, so they weren''t particularly clever, but were very obedient and easy to manage. With their claws and sharp teeth, they looked scary but were actually meek.


    Draft horses, on the other hand, were moody and challenging to use. They regarded humans as pests, as they were way bigger than any man. The smallest draft horses had at the very least the height of a man and as they grew, reaching three to four human heights was normal. To tame a draft horse a man needed to be very strong, as they weren''t too sensitive and directing them was a hard work. Teamsters at all times wore sticks with a sharp point at the end coated in a special substance. This substance had a numbing effect, so if the horse went wild, it could be stopped.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Draft horses weren''t too fast; they had several pairs of limbs depending on their age. When reaching maturity, all of them had three pairs of legs and would grow more with time. Still, those with more than five pairs were also uncommon as they were generally too old. With age draft horses would become even moodier and could no longer be used in public places.


    Feather looked at five big horses. The smallest of them was more than two her heights and has six legs. The biggest one was three times higher than her and had ten legs. The last three had eight legs each and were somewhere in the middle.


    All the horses were lazily lying on their stomachs while the workers were busying themselves around the horses fastening the cargo to them.


    Feather was awed by how swift and professional they were. The big boxes and sacks were loaded in a matter of minutes.


    As Feather was watching the workers, Lance came up to her.


    "Impressive, ain''t they?" he said looking at the last preparations.


    Right now he was wearing an additional knee-long robe and a hat trimmed with fur. The hat fully covered his hair. With an addition of a curved knife and a shamshir under the belt, he looked exactly like those southern brigands. Nothing one would imagine a merchant should look like. He even had a big steel needle piercing his ear. Feather knew that those southern tribes used piercings as a mark of social status. She didn''t know what this particular way of piercing meant, but the only ones in the tribes without the piercings were slaves and foreigners. That showed that Lance had some standing in those tribes. Not an easy feat for an outsider.


    The only thing denoting his being a merchant was a heap of golden rings on his fingers. Well, at least, that showed he was wealthy. Still, he looked savage even despite smiling and being cheerful all the time. He looked like a beast which would strike at any moment. Feather wondered if the bandits on the way would all run away just looking at him.


    The other merchants joining the caravan looked a bit less menacing, but still, they were armed and stern. No hired hands would protect your property before their own lives, so if a merchant couldn''t fight, he''d better out of the profession.


    All in all, over forty people joined the caravan. Thirty of them were merchants and their guards, and the rest were teamsters and travelers tagging along.


    As they needed to travel fast, there were riding horses for everyone, and those who didn''t have their own horses paid to ride atop the draft horses.


    After everything was checked and rechecked, Lance finally issued an order for the caravan to set off.


    Teamsters prodded the horses. The big draft horses loudly huffed, gathered their legs, pushed their massive bodies up from the floor, and slowly moved onto the road.

 Fatigue (2)

    Feather, as an employed guard, also had to ride a horse which Lance kindly provided her with. The bad part was, she had never learned to ride a horse. She may have ridden one once or twice with her cousin, but that was all.


    She had never before noticed horses were so rocky. The horse was wobbling with every step. Feather was threatened to fall all the time if she didn''t concentrate. Luckily, Feather was agile so she could deal with it.


    She glanced enviously at Lance. The way Lance was riding his horse made it seem overly easy. He wasn''t swaying even a bit, going from head to tail of the caravan and back, checking if anything was amiss before they got too far from the city.


    When Lance saw the way Feather was riding the horse, he felt confused. He thought Bright was a member of an aristocratic family, how come he didn''t know how to ride a horse? Was there any family that wouldn''t teach its offsprings such a basic skill?


    Lance directed his horse to Bright''s side.


    "Is it your first time riding a horse?" he asked. He didn''t wait for an answer as it was pretty obviously the case. Thus, he continued: "Don''t grab reins too tightly. I thought that you could ride, so the horse is not particularly meek. If you pull too hard, it''s going to throw you."


    Feather tried to relax and let the reins loose, the horse under her immediately felt it and cheerfully picked up the pace. Feather nearly fell down at the moment. Lance started thinking whether it was a good idea taking this boy with him. It wasn''t too far from the town yet, maybe he should send him back while it wasn''t too late. But the next moment Lance changed his mind, the boy before him was obviously a genius. Despite riding for the first time, Bright was adapting as he went and didn''t sway as much in just several moments. Lance gave several more pointers to him, and in a blink Bright was going back and forth, his horse running full throttle.


    By the time the caravan stopped for the night, Bright was able to ride so well that no one would suspect it was his first time.


    The caravan went for a day without suspense. Nothing happened, and in the evening everyone stopped for the night as planned.


    The stop was made at the big flat boulder by the side of the road. Only places such as this could be considered relatively safe. There were no holes over the surface of solid rocks.


    The caravaners swiftly set tents, so no one had to sleep under the sky. The days might have become warm already, but the nights were cold even in summer, especially, after the evening dew fell and the air became humid. Even the most stoic person would shiver at the time and try to move closer to the fire.


    The fire was set in the middle of the camp shielded by the flanks of the draft horses. The horses were laying around the campsite forming a wall protecting everyone from wind and possible intruders. They also warded the camp from wild beasts, as draft horses were too big and no predators hunted them unless it was a famine year.


    While the tents were being set, part of the people went to make a meal for everyone. By the time the tents were set the meal was almost ready. Everyone gathered by the fire and were happily chatting. The caravaners were telling stories of their past adventures. The atmosphere was tranquil.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    While the camp was being set, Feather volunteered to help with tents. After that, she drifted away from everyone and sat by the side of her horse away from the fire. The day was long, and she didn''t sleep much last night, so Feather slowly started drifting to sleep. That was when she was suddenly startled into wakefulness. A girl appeared by her side she didn''t notice when. Feather was frightened at the thought that someone could walk up to her without her being aware. Just last night she nearly died. If she was so easy to close in, wasn''t that dangerous?


    "I''m sorry, did I wake you?" the girl blushed as she said. "I brought your portion of food." she gave Feather a chunk of meat and a bottle of water.


    "I noticed you didn''t come to the fire. My name''s Aster." the girl sat down by Feather''s side.


    "I''m Bright."


    "I know, uncle Lance told me."


    The girl was around fifteen, so they were of the same age with Feather. Feather remembered that she saw Aster in the morning when everyone gathered together with a boy of around ten.


    "That''s Rock, my brother. Our village often needs all those things that are only available in towns, so someone has to go. Others can do more at home, so we go."


    "Isn''t that dangerous?" Feather wondered.


    "We are traveling with caravans along the road. The caravans are well guarded, so it''s easier for us. We just have to pay caravaners a bit for protection."


    Aster was an avid speaker, so Feather who wasn''t much of a talker herself didn''t have troubles conversing.


    Feather wasn''t particularly hungry, but while listening to Aster talking, she ate the food anyway. It was good to have a warm piece of meat in the cold evening weather.


    They chatted for a while about some nothings before it was time to go to sleep.


    And yet, Feather couldn''t fall asleep. She was jumping at every noise, be it someone snoring in his sleep, huffing of horses, or the guards walking around.


    She was feeling shadows of assassins in every movement of light around her.


    Despite her being tired, or maybe thanks to it, she was feeling extremely clearly every little sound, every tiny movement of air, every speck of light, every smell. Everything was so vivid and vibrant. She would''ve never thought that a silent night could produce such a cacophony of sensations.


    She was so overwhelmed by the world around her, that she didn''t notice how the morning came.


    The last shift of guards was tasked with making breakfast, so by the time the caravan was to wake up the food was ready. The time spent on getting up and preparing to move on was minimized.


    The movements of the horses were monotonous so, by the time it was noon, Feather started to nod off.


    Lance, who noticed it, was slightly displeased. The boy he thought to be a hidden gem turned out a bit of a let down. Other than somewhat good strength and better than average fighting skill, the boy had neither skills necessary for survival, nor stamina.


    It wasn''t as if Lance was thoroughly disappointed by Bright. Just, Lance having great expectations and Bright not meeting them. Still, the boy was honest and hardworking even if a bit asocial so, perhaps, it could be fixed.


    Being asocial was nothing new between mercenaries, so this wasn''t even an issue. The lack of skills would improve with time. And the lack of staminaˇ­


    ''That''s where we can start,'' thought Lance to himself.


    He called Bright and made him dismount.


    After Lance''s explanation, Feather had to admit that she was indeed severely lacking in stamina, she just had never paid attention to it before.


    That was true even if she wasn''t sleepy right now. She had rarely gone outside her house and most of her time had been spent in a library.


    The exercises she had done were enough to boost her overall fitness and strength but not stamina.


    Feeling that it was a great opportunity to improve, Feather run along the caravan without a second thought.


    Lance observed the boy and was pleased with his attitude. Being able to recognize one''s shortcomings and willing to work hard to fix them was a good trait for a man.


    The caravan was moving just fast enough for Feather to jog along.


    No one noticed anything wrong until she fell.


    Even she herself didn''t notice. Her mind went blank long before her body registered it and finally collapsed.

 Ambush (3)

    Feather woke up because it was quiet. It was dark, and there was no movement.


    She looked around. In the flickering light of a fire, she saw outlines of big horses and tents between them.


    "Up finally?" Lance was sitting on the back of the horse near her and watching the camp. Feather could tell from his tone that he wasn''t pleased with her. She was up for some scolding.


    "How long I''ve been asleep?" she asked.


    "Wrong, the question is, how long you haven''t been?" Lance asked back. "To fall asleep while running, how long have you been awake before that?"


    Lance thought back to the time the one before him collapsed. He was genuinely concerned about the boy and guess what? He hurried there just to find out that the boy was sleeping like a baby.


    Lance didn''t make the caravan stop for this. He just lifted the boy to the back of his horse. That''s where the second surprise came to him. The boy wasn''t a boy at all. She was very boyish, thin and skinny. If not for this close contact right now he wouldn''t be able to tell, but she was a girl. Even back when they fought, he hadn''t noticed that the fierce youth before him was not a boy.


    Lance felt a headache coming.


    Not that he was against girls. But a fresh out-of-home little lady who thinks herself a great hero, a capable warriorˇ­ He was skeptical of those kinds.


    Even though, he didn''t intend to expose the girl. What for?


    Thinking back, she never told them she was a ''he''. They all assumed it themselves.


    Lance swiftly caught up with the head horse and threw the girl on it''s back. The head horse didn''t have any passengers, only the cargo.


    "Let him sleep," he instructed the teamster and went off.


    In the evening, when the camp was set, Lance let everyone go to sleep and stood guard himself while waiting for the trouble to wake up.


    Feather thought carefully.


    "It wasn''t that long, just a couple of days?" she said weakly.


    "Just a couple of days is enough for you to collapse? Your stamina is really pitiful." Lance was dismayed.


    Feather sat there head-down. She didn''t expect herself to fall asleep there and then either.


    "I don''t want to reprimand you much. I see you''re a hardworking fellow. But still, I need to advise you so that you wouldn''t be a bother for everyone in the future."


    Feather looked down and nodded. She understood she was in the wrong.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Meanwhile, Lance continued: "What you did was irresponsible.


    "Imagine, what if at the moment you collapsed we were attacked? Should everyone fend off enemies, or think about what''s wrong with you?


    "And that doesn''t even include you''re leaving the team with one fighter less. What will become of your teammates whose back you should be covering?


    "If anything''s the matter with you, you should without fail report it to your immediate superior. In our case that would be me. So that I can help you, and all the team won''t have to suffer because of you."


    Feather was listening silently to the scolding.


    "Enough of that, I hope you learned your lesson," he ceased telling her off. "The night is young, and you have already slept half a day, go guard tonight. All you have to do is watch the fire so that it doesn''t extinguish."


    Feather shivered at the prospect. In her lowest voice she mumbled:


    "I''m sorry, captain, please, anything but the fire. I won''t be able to do it."


    Lance frowned:


    "What now?"


    "You just now said to report if it''s the matter with me, soˇ­ the matter isˇ­" Feather paused to collect herself, "it isˇ­ I can''t stand fire," she breathed out.


    "I can''t... go near the fire, I won''t be able. Please, don''t make me do it. I''ll do anything else!"


    Lance looked at the trembling child before him and shook his head. ''Troublesˇ­''


    "Well," he said, "at least, you told me before extinguishing the fire. Alright, so if you can''t look after the fire, then can you walk around as a guard? That shouldn''t be hard?"


    Feather leaped in joy.


    "Yes, thank you, captain! I''ll do it! I can! I won''t disappoint you!"


    Lance shook his head once more at the overly enthusiastic response.


    "I''ll tell Axe and Sword to look after the fire then. If anything happens, go to them, alright? They are seasoned boys; they''ll help you."


    "Yes, sir!" Feather swiftly and soundlessly left to patrol the perimeter.


    Lance sighed, he wasn''t able to hear her steps at all.


    ''What a peculiar guy. Not to mention he''s a girl, but such formidable martial skills along with nonexistentˇ­ well, everything else. Does she have any other area of expertise maybe? Interesting. I definitely should get her to the Boss to look at.''


    With that, he went to the guards at the fire and told them to look after the newbie before going to sleep.


    Feather had slept unexpectedly well after collapsing. She had dreamed no stupid dreams or anything, so she was back to her full health and a night shift didn''t tire her at all. She was full of vigor.


    While the caravan was moving on its way, Feather solemnly jogged along.


    Lance came to check on her a couple of times but seeing how she was alright said nothing.


    Days went by, and the caravan was steadily moving to its destination.


    At first, Feather found the forest along the road very beautiful and interesting, as she had never before been out of home. Alas, over the week of travel the unchanging rows of trees by the side of the twisted road started to bore her. Nothing changed. The journey was monotonous to the extreme.


    Her stamina started to slowly improve. Now she was able to run for a longer time at once before taking the rest on the horse''s back. Then she would run once again.


    During this week, although she didn''t intentionally interact with people, she still managed to get to know everyone in the caravan.


    She already knew Aster from the first evening. Her brother, Rock, was a bright boy. From time to time he would snatch Feather''s horse, while she was exercising, and ride it along.


    Feather got along with siblings very well. Probably her age played a role in it.


    Other than the siblings, three men were traveling with the caravan. One of them was bringing his wife and daughter along.


    Feather didn''t interact with them much, though. The man with the daughter was overprotective towards her and was guarded against men in the caravan, especially young ones. The other two men were much older than her and were drinking and playing cards out of boredom while sitting on the back of the draft horse.


    The days were long, and it was hard for Feather to tell how much of the distance they managed to cover.


    Feather never imagined that traveling wasn''t as interesting as the books in the library said.


    In the books, there was always something new the traveler encountered. Or new people met. Or some treasures unearthed.


    She had never read about it being so routine.


    Even the expected bandits were nowhere to be seen.


    Just as Feather was thinking about this, the caravan came to an abrupt stop.

 The First Kill (4)

    Everyone was relaxed by the monotonous journey when the caravan came abruptly to the stop.


    A big tree had fallen right in front of the first horse, and following that, another big tree had fallen at the end of the caravan. The trees had completely sealed the paths forth and back for them.


    At the same time, the barrage of arrows fell on them from the forest by the road.


    The forest here had lavish underbrush. People hidden in the bushes couldn''t be seen at all from the road.


    The guards immediately drew shields to counter the attack.


    The arrows deflected on the horses'' skin and shields.


    Though unexpected, the attack didn''t bring much damage to the caravan.


    Lance watched the way guards acted with satisfaction. They were an experienced team and didn''t need any efforts from him in this situation.


    He deflected the arrows coming at him with a slight movement of his hand. Feather''s initial judgment was right, for a commoner, Lance was terrifyingly strong.


    At this moment Feather wasn''t at the liberty to enjoy the view, though. She didn''t have a shield at her disposal, so the arrows would find her an easy target. The only thing she could do was evade, so she ducked to the counter side of the horse hanging on to the saddle straps.


    The horse naturally liked neither the stop no the arrows hitting it. The arrows fired from the common bows were not able to harm a horse, but they still hurt.


    The horse hissed and threw Feather off. Knowing that it was impossible for her to hang on to the horse further, Feather drew the sword from the sheath attached to the saddle. She fell to the ground, tucked and rolled away.


    Fortunately, the barrage of arrows stopped at the moment.


    There was no point in shooting arrows as soon as the guards were alerted. It only was useful when people were taken by surprise. The horses couldn''t be hurt with usual arrows, and the guards had already drawn their shields out. Thus, the second rally of arrows didn''t come.


    Instead of it, people jumped out of the forest.


    There were many of them, more than fifty. They were poorly dressed. Less than five of them had something resembling an armor on. Several men were covering their faces with rags, but most didn''t bother.


    The bandits used the fact that the road in this place was partially lower than the forest ground. It was a good place to set an ambush, and that''s what they had done.


    They used ropes to jump from the forest to the road. Obviously, there was a hole or several on the side of the road, so they needed to jump over. Or maybe it was a deception. No one knew, and no one intended to go and check whether there really was a hole there.


    The guards bravely met the ambushers, and the battle started.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The bandits were dressed poorly and the weapons in their hands were of bad quality, but they compensated it with ferociousness. They avoided more skilled fighters to attack others in bunches.


    Although Feather was a good fighter, it was her first time participating in such a brawl where many people fought many. In this circumstances, being thrown away by the horse happened to be a good thing for her. Feather was thrown to the draft horses side, where the fight hadn''t reached yet. It gave her some time to observe the situation and brace herself.


    There were five draft horses on the road, and she was standing with her back to one of them.


    The bandits were attacking only from the left side of the road, but the guards couldn''t concentrate there, because there still was a chance of an attack from the other side if they turned away. This way bandits were able to outnumber the guards nearly three to one.


    Despite being outnumbered, guards were not losing as they were better equipped and more experienced than these bandits.


    Feather saw Lance calmly sitting on his horse at the head of the caravan as if he was unconcerned with the situation.


    Here and there she saw the guards surrounded by small groups of the bandits.


    Next to her Feather saw Sword and Axe, the two guards she got acquainted with first, struggling against five opponents.


    The guards were strong, but the bandits were not weak either. The battle didn''t seem to go either way in the short term.


    After getting the disposition, Feather joined the battle.


    She came right on time to intercept a blade coming at Axe who happened to be nearest to her.


    Feather was the most proficient with her father''s swordplay, nevertheless, even while wielding one sword, she was still a lot better than these bandits.


    The power of her strike was so overwhelming that the hand of the attacking bandit broke and the bandit himself was thrown several steps away.


    Feather didn''t stop at that, she ducked under the swinging sword and kicked at the next opponent''s leg destabilizing him. Axe didn''t hesitate to connect his sword at that time taking out this bandit.


    That left three bandits for the three of them.


    The bandits also saw that the advantage wasn''t on their side anymore and decided it was better to run for their lives.


    The battle was swiftly turning in favor of the caravan guards.


    Just at this moment, Feather heard a girl''s cry from the back. She immediately turned to see what happened. One of the bandits evaded all guardians and was about to climb a big horse where passengers were seated. The bandit probably thought that he could take them hostages.


    Feather immediately sprinted there, jumped the bandit and stabbed the sword into his leg. Under her weight, they both fell onto the ground.


    The bandit tried to grab Feather, and Feather rolled back. He stood up heavily. The bandit was sturdier than Feather; Feather looked like a little child in front of her opponent. Despite that, the bandit was wary; he didn''t have much chance to win this fight now that he was wounded. Although his opponent was just a little kid, this kid was a very sneaky one.


    Feather moved to the side of the bandit and struck.


    Bandit wasn''t fast enough to turn with his injured leg and fell to the ground. That saved him from Feather''s sword. Alas, lying on the ground there was nothing he could do, and the fight was decided.


    Feather held her sword keeping the bandit at the point. The fighting had already ceased, battle finished.


    Bandits were defeated. Those who could do so fled; the rest were either dead or lying injured on the ground.


    Despite the initial difference in numbers, the guards came out of the battle mostly unscratched. All of them were seasoned warriors, and against this group of random people, there was no way the guards could have lost. Poor bandits probably never expected for there to be so many guardians with such a small caravan.


    Lance, who was the strongest warrior in the caravan didn''t even have to make a move before everything was resolved.


    The whole battle took less than a couple of minutes.


    No one chased fleeing bandits.


    Lance came around the caravan checking the results of the battle.


    On the guards'' side, three men had light injuries.


    The injured bandits who failed to flee were swiftly being finished by the guards; no one was spared.


    While passing Feather, Lance saw that the bandit she defeated was sprawling on the ground under the sword, but the girl was hesitant to finish him.


    Lance sighed silently and dismounted.


    He came to Feather, put his hand over hers and pushed the sword down, killing the bandit.